A
society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know
they shall never sit in.
Sunday, January 31, 2016
Emptiness
Emptiness
simply means nothing exists in and of itself. Nothing exists
independent of other thing—causes and conditions.
Everything
in existence depends on some other things.
You
are here because your father's genes joined with your mother's.
You
are here because of the water and oxygen you have brought into your
body.
You
are here because of the food you have brought into your body and
converted into you.
A
tree is here because of a seed (from another tree) and water and
sunlight and the atmosphere and minerals in the soil.
Things,
thoughts, emotions, ideas, dreams, everything exists because of
causes and conditions.
There
is no thing that exists independent of causes and conditions.
Emptiness does not mean 'nothingness', it means 'every-thingness'.
Emptiness
Emptiness is not a thing, some new toy or crutch to grab hold of. The greatest delusion, warned against by masters of emptiness teaching, is attachment to emptiness. Even emptiness is empty. It is simply a way of being that releases and lets go of attachments. It is a practice of opening and letting go.
---Taigen Dan Leighton, in Faces of Compassion---
Essential Emptiness
---Taigen Dan Leighton, in Faces of Compassion---
Saturday, January 30, 2016
Not Self
According to the Buddha's teaching, it is as wrong to hold the opinion 'I have no self' (which is the annihilationist theory) as to hold the opinion 'I have self' (which is the eternalist theory), because both are fetters, both arising out of the false idea 'I AM'. The correct position with regard to the question of Anatta [not self] is not to take hold of any opinions or views, but to try to see things objectively as they are without mental projections, to see that what we call 'I', or 'being', is only a combination of physical and mental aggregates, which are working together interdependently in a flux of momentary change within the law of cause and effect, and that there is nothing permanent, everlasting, unchanging and eternal in the whole universe.
Here naturally a question arises: If there is no Atman or Self, who gets the results of karma (actions)? No one can answer this question better than the Buddha himself. When this question was raised by a bhikkhu [monk] the Buddha said: 'I have taught you, O bhikkhus, to see conditionality everywhere in all things.'
---Walpola Rahula, in What the Buddha Taught---
Conditioned Genesis
The
doctrine of Conditioned Genesis explains there is nothing in the
world that is absolute. Everything is conditioned, relative, and
interdependent.
This
is the Buddhist theory of relativity.
The
principle of this doctrine is expressed by the short formula:
When
this is, that is;
This
arising, that arises;
When
this is not, that is not;
This
ceasing, that ceases.
This
formula can be expressed in a modern form:
When
A is, B is;
A
arising, B arises;
When
A is not, B is not;
A
ceasing, B ceases
Friends
When our friends are present, we ought to treat them well, and when they are absent, to speak of them well.
---Epictetus---
Bodhisattva — For the Benefit of All Sentient Beings
 |
| Jetsun Khandro Rinpoche |
The word bodhisattva is a compound formed of bodhi (awake or awaken) and sattva (being or a being). So the word might be translated as an awakened being or even a being working towards awakening.
Prajna — Wisdom
---Paul Williams, in Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, 2nd edition---
A Correct Understanding
. . . the principal concern of Buddhist writing is with the correct understanding of the way things really are. . .
---Paul Williams, in Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations, 2nd edition ---
Friday, January 29, 2016
A Stoic
A
Stoic is some one who transforms fear into prudence, pain into
transformation, mistakes into initiation, and desire into
undertaking.
---Nassim
Nicholas Taleb---
Creamed Onions
2
pounds of white pearl onions, unpeeled
1
1/4 teaspoons of salt
1
tablespoon of unsalted butter
1
tablespoon all-purpose flour
1
cup heavy cream or half-and-half
1/4
teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4
teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Blanch the onions in a 3-quart pot of boiling water for 1 minute.
Drain
the onions in a colander and transfer them to a bowl of cold water to
stop cooking. Drain and peel the onions.
Put
the onions and 1 teaspoon salt in the same pot and add fresh water to
cover by 1 inch. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer,
covered, until the onions are tender, about 20 minutes.
Drain
the onions well in a colander and transfer them to a buttered 2-quart
baking dish.
Put
the oven rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to 350°F.
Melt
the butter in a heavy saucepan over moderately low heat.
Add
the flour and cook, stirring continuously, for 1 minute.
Add
the cream in a stream, whisking continuously.
Bring
the mixture to a simmer, whisking continuously.
Simmer
the sauce, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes.
Stir
in the pepper, the nutmeg, and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
Pour
the sauce over the onions.
Thursday, January 28, 2016
A Tree
Every follower of the Buddha ought to plant a tree every few years and look after it until it is safely established.
---E. F. Schumacher, in Small is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered---
A Limited World
An attitude to life which seeks fulfillment in the single-minded pursuit of wealth—in short, materialism—does not fit into this world, because it contains within itself no limiting principle, while the environment in which it is placed is strictly limited.
---E. F. Schumacher, in Small is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered---
Nirvana
That which is the destruction of greed, hatred, and delusion is said to be Nirvana.
---The Venerable Shariputra, the Buddha's Chief Disciple---
Wisdom and Morality
---Buddhist Dictum---
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Alcohol
The basic objection to alcoholic drinks and such drugs lies in the fact that they distort the mental vision, if only temporarily; in such case it is not possible to preserve the vigilance and alertness that Buddhists should continuously practice.
---Hammalawa Saddhatissa, in Buddhist Ethics---
The Ten Fetters
There are Ten Fetters by which Beings are bound to Samsara, the continuity of existence.
Fetter Number One
Belief in Personality
Fetter Number Two
Doubt, Uncertainty of Judgement
Fetter Number Three
Belief in the Efficacy of Ceremonial Observances
Fetter Number Four
Sensual Lust
Fetter Number Five
Ill Will
Fetter Number Six
Greed for Fine Material Existence
Fetter Number Seven
Greed for Immaterial Existence
Fetter Number Eight
Conceit
Fetter Number Nine
Restlessness and Worry
Fetter Number Ten
Ignorance
Butterflies Flutter
Butterflies flutter.
Grasshoppers bounce all around.
Then it is quiet.
---Sharon Garret (Grade 6)---
Clarity
Only when you neither loathe nor love
Will it be penetratingly clear.
---The Hsin Hsin Ming---
The Conception of God
The social impulses are another source of the crystallization of religion. Fathers and mothers and the leaders of larger human communities are mortal and fallible. The desire for guidance, love, and support prompts men to form the social or moral conception of God. This is the God of Providence, who protects, disposes, rewards, and punishes; the God who, according to the limits of the believer's outlook, loves and cherishes the life of the tribe or of the human race, or even life itself; the comforter in sorrow and unsatisfied longing; he who preserves the souls of the dead. This is the social or moral conception of God.
---Albert Einstein---
Greek-Inspired Vegetable Soup
2 medium potatoes, scrubbed, peeled, and diced
2 medium carrots, diced
1 cup of finely chopped white cabbage
3 celery stalks, chopped
1/2 cup of baby corn on the cob, cut into thirds
1 large onion, chopped
3/4 cup of olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Place the tomatoes, and the juice obtained during the chopping, into a soup pot along with 2 pints of cold water.
Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 30 minutes.
Add all the remaining ingredients, return to the boil, then lower a simmer for 45 minutes to an hour until all the vegetables are done to your liking.
Serve with a hearty bread and cheese.
Standards
The use of a standard causes things to get divided into what one wants to attain and what one wants to get rid of. Only by evaluation according to a standard are things judged as right and wrong. The difference between ordinary men and buddhas is not the correctness of their standards but that buddhas have no standards.
---Soko Moringa---
Starving-Student Apple Curry Dip
1 1/2 cups of cottage cheese
1 cup of unsweetened applesauce
1 envelope of onion soup mix
2 teaspoons of your favorite curry powder
In a blender, blend the cottage cheese and the applesauce until smooth.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl.
Stir in the soup mix and the curry powder.
Serve with raw vegetables.
Starving-Student Potatoes O'Brien
3 tablespoons of butter
1 small onion, finely minced
1 small green or red bell pepper, or a mixture of both, diced
1 pound of potatoes, peeled and sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add the onion and the bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until almost tender.
Add the potato slices and continue to saute, stirring occasionally, until all the vegetables are done to your liking.
Season with salt and pepper.
Serve.
What Do They Mean in Isolation?
When the tea room is filled only with aristocrats or commoners, samurai or merchants, nothing is communicated, feelings are not mutually understood and the situation does not move forward. When the dojo* is occupied by only the best students or beginners, nothing is learned. When one is concerned only with the intellectual and works for nothing in the practical world, he or she is in a position of stagnation. Heaven is Heaven, Earth is Earth, mountains are mountains, rivers are rivers, monks are monks, laypeople are laypeople. But what do they mean in isolation? What are mountains without rivers, or monks without the laity?
---William Scott Wilson, in The One Taste of Truth: Zen and the Art of Drinking Tea---
*Dojo is a Japanese term which literally means "place of the way."
Initially, dojos were adjunct to temples.
In the Western World, the term dojo primarily refers to a training place specifically for Japanese martial arts.
Without Resistance
To
wield a sword, ride a horse, write – do it in such a manner as if
you were not wielding a sword, not riding a horse, not writing. Then
you accomplish everything without resistance, yet with spirit and
ease.
---Yagyu Munenori---
From a Master
No matter what secret tradition you receive, no matter what technique you use, if your mind is detained by that technique, you will suffer defeat. Expel Existence and Nonexistence altogether, and make what lies behind them your own.
---Yagyu Munenori, in The Life-Giving Sword---
Conceptual Lenses
We must beware of seeing or experiencing anything through religious, philosophical, or idealistic perspectives. At first we see truth. Then, after years of study, we see the Truth. But it is only after we have gotten rid of all conceptual lenses through which to view reality that we see the t/Truth.
---William Scott Wilson---
As It Is
Before I practiced Ch'an [Zen], mountains were just mountains, and rivers were just rivers. Then, when I achieved an understanding of our religion, mountains were no longer mountains, and rivers were no longer rivers. But now that I have settled in, mountains are just mountains, and rivers are just rivers.
---Ch'ing Yuan---
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
A Poem
In my middle years I quite loved the Tao;
In old age, I made my house near the southern mountains.
When I feel like it, I go out—always alone.
On my own, I know the vanity of gain [and loss].
Walking to where the stream begins,
I sit and watch the clouds arise.
By chance, I met an old man in the forest;
We talked and laughed so that I forgot to go home.
---Wang Wei---
What Is The Buddha?
To ask, "What is the Buddha?" is to intellectualize, to step into the world of concepts, ideas, and words. In Zen, such things are considered to be a buffer between the seeker and absolute reality, a roundabout path that leads to confusion and separation.
---William Scott Wilson---
Freedom
When we throw away our desires and illusions, our fundamental Buddha-nature appears. Abandon your preconceived ideas of whatever art you study, and the meaning of your teacher's words may be understood for the first time.
---William Scott Wilson---
A Poem
I made my dwelling within men's boundaries,
But there is no noise of horse and cart.
I ask you, How can this be so?
When the heart is far away, the land bends there of itself.
Picking chrysanthemums beneath the eastern hedge,
I look out leisurely at the southern mountains.
The mountains' energy is fresh and clean both day and night.
Birds fly home in pairs.
Within all this there is a deep meaning.
I want to express it, but I've already forgotten the words.
---Tao Yuan-ming---
Salvation
No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.
---The Buddha---
Deities
Buddhists do not deny the existence of various gods or deities.
Buddhists do not attribute any specific importance to such gods. They do not regard the deities as a support for the moral development or as a support for the attainment of salvation of Nibbana*, Whether they are great or small, both human beings and deities are perishable and subject to rebirth.
---K. Sri Dhammananda---
*Nirvana
Alpha and Omega
Emmon, "And in the end, what?"
Nyuri, "No beginning and no end."
Emmon, "Then there is no cause and effect either?"
Nyuri, "Without beginning, there is no end."
---The Ceasing of Notions---
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